Binghill

Stone Circle

Binghill (Stone Circle) on The Modern Antiquarian, the UK & Ireland's most popular megalithic community website. 18 images, 2 fieldnotes, 1 piece of folklore, 1 weblink, plus information on many more ancient sites nearby and across the UK & Ireland.

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Fieldnotes

29/04/2012 - Same route as Drew to get to the circle. Parking tricky at entrance to Binghill house so we parked a little south where the houses are (NJ 85400203). Not to keen on the big gates with Private on them to go through but had no problems. There is something about a circle when it's now in a wood I really like. Sunny and with not much leaves on the trees yet it could still reach the stones. Binghill is a great little circle.

In the middle of Milltimber, a suburb of Aberdeen on the A93, find Contlaw Road (there is a pub at the junction) and move in a north Westerly direction. Just as the road is about to leave Milltimber take the farm lane that heads east and walk. This isn't very good for cars. After about 11/2 miles a fork in the road will be reached. Look to the left and a path can be seen which leads to the circle and also a little mentioned cairn. (Keiller mentions it in Canmore)

The recumbent still stands with both it's flankers lying on the ground beside it. Only two other stones stand with others all having a rest amongst the trees. To my thinking there also seems to be the remnants of a kerb cairn or an inner ring here as well. If the trees weren't here the site would look onto the River Dee.

Folklore

[referring to a stone at Skelmuir Hill:] Its position is accounted for in local tradition by its having fallen upon and crushed to death an old-time farmer who was digging below it in search of a bull's hide full of gold. The same legend is told of two other monoliths in Aberdeenshire, one at Kildrummy and one at Binghill.

from 'Report on the Stone Circles of the North-East of Scotland' by Fred. R Coles, in PSAS 38 (1904).

Walk in a south westerly direction from the stone circle and this very rough cairn can be found. There has been a 'Unexplained, Uneasy feeling' forum and today was a good example. The rain had by-passed monsoon and the thunder and lightning led to some eerie moments. Every now and again the woods would light up to give a very uneasy feeling but that might have been because I was drenched and frozen.

The cairn is 8 meters north to south, 6 meters east to west and almost 2 meters high. Most of the cairn material is made up of large rocks with no kerb or ring.

Anyway I was soaked so I went to the eastern cairn. These cairns have caused no end of confusion even to Canmore, OS, Phillips and myself. (just ask the TMA Ed)